Over the years, various techniques have been developed to help a person accurately aim a weapon such as a rifle. One common approach is to mount a sight or scope on the weapon. A person then uses the sight or scope to view an image of a scene that includes an intended target.
In many weapon sights, the first optical surface encountered by radiation entering the sight is a flat surface. When a beam of radiation such as sunlight is traveling along a path and encounters this flat surface, some portion of that radiation is typically reflected, and all of the reflected radiation will then travel away from the surface in the same direction. In a hunting situation, this glint may startle an animal being hunted, such as a deer. In a combat situation, the glint may alert an enemy combatant to the presence of the soldier using the weapon.
Moreover, if a person holding the weapon sight pivots the weapon with the sight thereon, the reflected radiation will be swept through an angle twice that of the angle of weapon movement. This increases the size of a remote region where the glint from the reflection is likely to be noticed.
In an attempt to reduce reflections of this type, various arrangements have previously been utilized, such as antireflection coatings, shades and baffles. Although these known techniques have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects.